


Rebellion (Lies)

by starsandgraces



Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-14
Updated: 2011-06-14
Packaged: 2017-10-20 10:11:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/211670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsandgraces/pseuds/starsandgraces
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the <i>Enterprise</i> is sent to negotiate a planet's urgent entrance into the Federation, it seems like just another mission. But things are never quite that simple, and there are things that the Federation doesn't know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rebellion (Lies)

**Author's Note:**

> Hooray, [trekreversebang](http://trekreversebang.livejournal.com/)! I was lucky enough to get art by the incredibly talented [pentapus](http://pentapus.livejournal.com/), which can be seen by clicking on the thumbnail below. I'd like to thank her for the opportunity to write for her wonderful art! Thanks also go to [withthepilot](http://withthepilot.livejournal.com/), who provided a loving and caring beta, and everyone who put up with my complaining about deadlines/occasional complete disappearances from the internet. Title is from the Arcade Fire song of the same name.

  
[   
](http://pentapus.dreamwidth.org/28897.html)   


The Covered City of the Aykat Yix is everything they promised and more. It reminds Uhura of Petra in the former Middle East region on Earth, though the rocks here have a greyish-blue tint to them instead of red. Parts of the Covered City are old—maybe even older than its counterpart on Earth—but others are far newer. Some are even still under construction as their Aykat Yix guide leads the away team through the winding stone tunnels of their underground home.

"Our population rises," Oju Yix says, spreading her wing-arms apologetically. "We build for the nestlets more than for ourselves."

Uhura wonders what could lead a race so clearly descended from an avian species to live underground with no room to stretch their wings, let alone fly. Maybe they lost that ability when they turned from the skies, or maybe it was the other way around.

"It must be a lot of work—it must have _been_ a lot of work, carving out an entire city from the rock," Kirk says.

"We live here for many generations," Oju Yix replies. Her beak-like lips clack together when she makes certain sounds, Uhura notices, and she suspects the Aykat Yix language is one she'll never be able to speak fluently. Luckily, they've been in contact with Starfleet and the Federation for long enough that there are more than enough people who can speak Standard, even if they can't quite grasp the past tense.

They don't seem to like the past, despite the history of the Covered City being written over every surface and every stone.

She's still lost in thought when Sulu hisses her name. "Huh?" Uhura asks eloquently. And then she sees.

The city opens out into a vast cavern ahead of them, lit by asymmetrical ventilation shafts in the ceiling. The sunlight streams down from the surface of the planet and illuminates sparkling minerals and gemstones embedded in the rock itself. Whether they were placed there by Aykat Yix past or naturally occurring, Uhura doesn't know enough to say. Light reflects into her eyes, and she squints and looks up again. It's only by chance that she spots the glimmer that indicates a force field across each opening, protecting the ancient, beautiful city from the elements.

"The inner city. The first city," their guide says, her tone almost reverent.

Everyone else seems as lost for words as Uhura. Spock is the first one to recover himself, clearing his throat and saying, "I assume our meeting with your council will take place in this part of the city."

"The council do not leave the first city," Oju Yix confirms, "and they speak rarely. You are blessed."

"They asked us here," Kirk says, his eyes watering slightly. "I would hope they're going to talk to us."

"I know little of their thoughts."

They descend into the centre of the Covered City. It's clear from the beginning that this is some kind of sacred place for the Aykat Yix. The outer city was filled with people going about their business, talking loudly to one another and hurrying from place to place. Here, the narrow streets are nearly deserted, and anyone they do see is walking slowly and silently. The away team walks in silence as well; the air of sanctity here is pervasive and it feels wrong to sully it.

"We are here."

Oju Yix stops them in front of one of the few doors Uhura has seen in the Covered City. At first, she doesn't even realise it's a door. Like everything else, it's made of rock and it looks completely immobile until it begins its slow inward swing.

"You go alone from here," Oju Yix says. Her physiology doesn't allow her to smile, so it seems more foreboding than she probably intended. "And I wait."

"Thank you," Uhura says.

The rest of the away team echoes the sentiment and they go through the door into the corridor beyond. It's dark and very narrow—even compared to the tight fit of the city's streets—and they're forced to walk in single file. At one point, the passage becomes so small that the three men of the away team have to turn sideways and shuffle like crabs for some twenty metres to fit their shoulders through. Kirk still manages to get jammed in a particularly difficult corner. Sulu runs straight into him and Uhura only just stops before she joins the pile-up.

"Spock," he says plaintively from the twilight. "I need you to pull me through."

"Captain, may I suggest you adhere to Doctor McCoy's diet more strictly in future?"

"That won't shrink my _skeleton_. Sulu, push me when Spock pulls," Kirk instructs them.

"This is embarrassing," Uhura says, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "Didn't you read the mission brief?"

"Of course I did, but this wasn't in it." He sounds offended and slightly breathless. "Narrow spaces thanks to the Aykat Yix being smaller than humans, yes. Inexplicable corners in their inexplicable tunnel, no."

Eventually, they make it to the council chamber without any more incidents. Kirk looks slightly the worse for wear, but then again, he often does. He brushes down his uniform and turns to face the dais at the far end of the room, where five figures sit.

"Captain Kirk," says the central figure. Its voice is strangely androgynous, even for the Aykat Yix.

"I understand you have information to trade for admittance to the United Federation of Planets," Kirk says. "The Federation was extremely pleased with the documents you sent back with the last Starfleet officers you met. I'm authorised to discuss terms with you, assuming you provide them with the promised, uh... gift."

There's an edge of confusion in Kirk's voice. Uhura and Sulu exchange glances; neither one of them needs to speak to know that Kirk has no idea what the Aykat Yix have that the Federation wants. It must be something big if even their captain doesn't have clearance for it.

"We make arrangements to transfer our gift to your ship," another of the figures says. "Of course, there is a suitable guard. The Aykat Qar—"

"Are of no concern to our guests," the first council member says sharply.

"Is there something we need to know?" Kirk says, equally sharply. "If there's something that could put my ship in danger, you need to tell me. Right now."

The figure in the centre—the head of the council, surely—spreads its wing-arms in the same gesture that Oju Yix used before. "They are not a problem. A rebel group, a splinter. They believe this alliance is rotten and bad for our planet. They endeavour to prevent it."

"Will my ship be in danger from these Aykat Qar people?" Kirk asks again. His fingers curl at his sides, very close to the grip of his phaser.

"Your ship is not in danger," all five of the council say in unison, their voices ringing through the hall.

It makes Uhura shiver suddenly. Spock notices and looks at her in barely perceptible concern, but she shakes her head. There's nothing wrong but a sudden rush of adrenalin, no doubt caused by the eerie echoes of the council's words. A minor shift in body chemistry shouldn't be read into too deeply.

"You have our gift," the head says. "In return, we join your Federation and have safe passage to another world."

Kirk looks back at the rest of the away team, his returning confusion obvious. There was nothing in the mission brief about moving an entire civilisation.

"We were led to believe by our guide that your people are in the process of expanding your city for future generations," Spock says, neatly covering for Kirk's silence and giving him a chance to think at the same time. "Why is it necessary to relocate to a new planet?"

"We run out of room in five, perhaps six generations. Your Federation offers us this chance to expand."

Uhura can't stop herself. "But what's wrong with this planet? There's more than enough room on the surface."

Each and every one of the council members fixes her with a beady eye that reminds her ridiculously of— _Don't laugh_ , Uhura thinks desperately, _whatever you do_ —the chickens she cared for as a child, and she can no longer take anything they say seriously.

"It is not your concern," the central figure says. "The Federation say we have this for our gift. Captain Kirk represents the Federation, not you."

"If the Federation is pleased with the gift, I'm sure they'll be happy to transport your people as discussed," Kirk says. "We need to get it back to Earth first of all, but someone will be in contact with you as soon as everything's been verified."

"This is acceptable. Your guide takes you to the gift and its guard."

It's not the most subtle of dismissals. Considering the Aykat Yix want to be part of the Federation badly enough to share some kind of highly classified knowledge, they don't seem to care much for diplomacy. If Kirk didn't have to answer to Starfleet, Uhura suspects he'd refuse their bid for entry entirely. Everyone knows Kirk doesn't like it when people start making demands.

One claustrophobic tunnel later and the away team emerges, blinking, into the bright sunlight illuminating the inner city.

"Come," Oju Yix says. Their eyes don't even have a chance to adjust. "It is a long journey back to your world, and the guard waits."

***

The Aykat Yix delegation is made up of six individuals: five of them larger—almost as tall as Uhura—and carrying weapons, one smaller and carrying a bag.

"Hey, you can't bring those aboard," Sulu says to the nearest Aykat Yix. She narrows her eyes and hisses at him, clacking her beak threateningly. Another of the guards says something to her in their own language and she backs down.

"You address _me_ ," the second guard says belligerently, his feathered crest rising slightly. "I am Khio Yix, commander. My guards do not speak your Standard."

"The lieutenant is correct," Spock says. "You are not permitted to bring your weaponry aboard the _Enterprise_. If you feel your gift requires additional protection, I shall assign a security team to aid you."

The smaller Aykat Yix watches the exchange with great interest, especially when Khio Yix reluctantly agrees. He barks an order and the remaining guards lay down their weapons on the ground, one by one. They look around suspiciously, as if they expect some kind of attack now they're unarmed—which doesn't make any sense, unless the rebels the council mentioned are more of an issue than they were led to believe.

Uhura puts the thought out of her head and prepares herself for transportation. Even if there _are_ rebels, there's no way they can get onto the _Enterprise_. Their security systems have just been upgraded for the second time in six months. Commander Scott and Lieutenant Speakman, the current head of security, spent over a week testing it and both seem entirely satisfied that nobody will be getting on board without a written invitation and an RSVP.

They beam up in two groups. The guards don't seem thrilled about that, either, but there's nothing they can do. A recent fault in the transporter resulted in losing two members of a larger group and no one wants to risk that happening again.

Before the Aykat Yix delegation are shown to the guest quarters they'll be occupying for the duration of the journey back to Earth, a slight issue arises. Kirk insists that the bag containing the gift from the Aykat Yix to the Federation has to be scanned before he'll allow them to take it outside the transporter room. Khio Yix disagrees.

They're at a stalemate before Kirk eventually says, "Fine. You can beam back down and wait for the next Starfleet ship to come along. Though I promise you, their captain's going to say exactly the same thing as I did."

"It is imperative the gift is not delayed," Khio Yix says.

"Then you're going to have to let us scan it."

But the scan doesn't turn up anything untoward, which makes Khio Yix's vehemence a little confusing. With the bag cleared, their guests are free to go to their quarters. Uhura decides to go along with them, as her paperwork is all up to date and someone else is covering her shift on the bridge. She finds herself walking alongside the smallest member of the party, who is clutching the bag to his chest as if someone's likely to try and take it away from him.

"I am Uhura. What is your name?" Uhura asks in her best Aykat Yix.

He makes a strange cawing noise and it takes her a moment to realise he's laughing. For some reason, it makes Uhura blush. Most aliens they encounter don't laugh at her attempts to speak their language, even on the rare occasion she doesn't get it quite right.

"It is strange, hearing it from your soft mouth," he explains. Then he says in Standard, "I am only Yix. I give up my shellname for the Aykat Yix."

"You all share 'Yix' in your names; why?" she asks.

"The nestlets hatch and grow together, with nurse mothers, no matter who their parents are. We are of one family," Yix says. "We are Yix."

"And you are only Yix."

He inclines his head. "I have a task. I give up my shellname because only the task matters to me now." Yix's wing-arm brushes protectively over the bag hanging at his side. "I deliver this. I do well."

"Do you get your name back when you complete your task?" Uhura asks.

"No," he says, and changes the subject. "Your ship is large. We have ships like this, though smaller."

"You couldn't stabilise the warp drive beyond the initial run you managed," she says, remembering it from the file she read. "But I thought you only had one left after the testing."

"Yes," Yix replies, a little testily. "We have ships."

"Oh. _Had_ ," she says. "You had ships."

"We have ships," he repeats.

The female guard who menaced Sulu back on the planet is watching them, Uhura notices. And while she may not speak Standard, she certainly understands it; she's following the conversation keenly. Uhura can see it in her eyes. For all she knows, the rest of the guards understand what she's saying as well. The same shiver that she felt in the council chamber makes goosebumps rise along her arms and Uhura is sure, suddenly, that the Aykat Yix aren't being entirely honest with them. She makes her excuses and leaves quickly.

She has no idea what they're lying about—nor any solid evidence that they are—so she almost doesn't mention it to Spock that night in their quarters. But when she does, he nods slowly.

"I believe your suspicions may be correct, Nyota," he says. "Their concern about leaving their weapons behind suggests they anticipate some form of attack, or perhaps they wish to mount an attack of their own. Though that would be foolish to say the least, given our superior numbers."

"You don't think I'm being paranoid?"

"I do not," Spock says gravely. "I will alert Jim and Lieutenant Speakman to our theory in the morning. They will no doubt wish to brief the security teams assigned to watch the guest quarters. 'Better safe than sorry', as Doctor McCoy would say."

Uhura lets out a heavy sigh, combing her fingers through her hair. "I really hope it's nothing."

***

After breakfast the next day, Uhura goes back to the quarters of the Aykat Yix. She doesn't really know what she has in mind; if they _are_ up to something, there's no chance any of the delegation will either trust her enough to say something or accidentally let an important detail slip. Not to mention the fact that they might not have any kind of ulterior motive.

She doesn't think that's the case, though.

Uhura passes the team of security members outside the door and enters the room. "Good morning," she says.

"Good morning, Uhura," Yix says. He sits in a chair slightly awkwardly, as if he's not quite used to it. The bag is clutched tightly under one of his wing-arms.

Two of the five guards are standing around the room at what Uhura assumes are strategic points. Of the other three—one of whom is Khio Yix—there's no sign. Perhaps he's speaking with Kirk, or maybe they're simply working in shifts to ensure nothing happens to the bag. The latter doesn't seem necessary, considering there are four armed security officers standing between the room and anyone trying to get inside. But the Aykat Yix have made it clear that what they consider necessary and what Starfleet considers necessary are two entirely different things.

"Did you sleep well?" Uhura asks after a moment.

"I sleep well enough," he says, "for being away from the roosts."

"If you speak to Captain Kirk, I'm sure he can arrange for your beds to be made... more suitable." There was nothing in the mission brief about the Aykat Yix needing special sleeping arrangements.

Yix lets out a dismissive whistle and smoothes down an errant feather. "There is no need. It suffices." He pauses for a moment. "Your replicator produces excellent food, however. I hope this is a technology your Federation shares with us."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem," Uhura starts to say, but she's interrupted by the red alert alarm. "Excuse me, I—"

"I'm sorry," says the female guard from yesterday, "but you're not going anywhere. We can't allow you to take the Alterer."

Before Uhura can react to the fact that she speaks Standard better than any other Aykat Yix they've met, the guard is across the room and has her wing-arms around the second guard's neck. His eyes widen in surprise, and then the expression leaks out of his face as she breaks his neck in one swift movement.

Yix bumps into Uhura hard; she's about to complain when she realises he's using it as an excuse to press the bag into her hands. With nowhere better to hide it, she pushes the bag down the front of her dress and hopes the rebel guard knows too little about human anatomy to realise something looks wrong.

"It is your task now," he whispers, before the guard pulls him away again. As she does so, he makes as if he's tucking the bag further under his wing-arm.

"You hear the true name of your death now," the guard says to Yix in their own language. "I am Elis Qar."

There's a second sickening crunch and Uhura runs for the door, which slides open to let her out into the corridor. The security team is gone and the corridor bathed in red light. The guard—who must be Aykat Qar—will be after her any second, so she keeps running. She dodges and twists and doubles-back, just to be certain she's not being followed, but with the ship in full red alert there must be more than one of the rebels aboard. A lot more.

She almost runs straight into Sulu outside the armoury. He has his foil in one hand and a phaser in the other.

"Uhura," Sulu says, obvious relief written across his face. He tosses her the phaser, which she catches in her left hand. "Let's get out of here, they're bound to secure the armoury once they've taken Security and the bridge."

"They've taken the bridge?" she asks, dismayed.

"I wasn't there, but Jim—uh, the captain managed to get a message out before they cut off communications. He thinks it's—"

"The Aykat Qar," Uhura finishes for him. "I know, and I can confirm it for you. One of the guards was a rebel. She killed another guard and Yix with her bare hands. Wings. She's probably finished off the other three since I ran for it." She fishes the bag out of the front of her dress and slings it over her shoulder. To his credit, Sulu doesn't say a word. "We need to keep this away from them at all costs. It's what they want."

"Got it." Sulu glances away to his left. "Do you hear that?"

Uhura listens intently and after a second she picks up the sound of faint voices approaching them. They're not speaking in Standard; whatever the language is, it's related to Aykat Yix—just not related enough that she can understand more than about an eighth of the words she hears. That's not a good sign.

"Let's go," she says, motioning to Sulu to follow her.

They stay in the main corridors of the _Enterprise_ for less than five minutes. That's all it takes for it to become obvious that the ship is completely overrun with Aykat Qar rebels, and with no plan in mind yet, a strategic retreat to the Jefferies tubes is the most sensible thing they can do.

"I don't understand where they came from," Sulu says. Then he raises a finger to his lips as he watches a patrol pass beneath the grate entrance of the tube they're in, his sword poised for action in his other hand.

Uhura shakes her head once they're gone, crawling farther into the tube. "It doesn't matter where they came from. What matters is that they got past all of our security systems and by the time we knew about it, it was too late to do anything."

"You said one of the guards was a rebel in disguise?"

"The one who didn't like you. But she couldn't have let them aboard, if that's what you were thinking. She didn't reveal herself until after the red alert had already been sounded."

"I knew she was trouble," Sulu says. Uhura purses her lip and _looks_ at him. "There's no need for that. What about one of the other guards?"

She shrugs. "Maybe."

"We need a plan," he says.

"We need intel first."

"We're not going to get it by sitting around here. We should head for sickbay first," Sulu says decisively. "It's defensible and there's a secondary cache of weapons in addition to all the medical stuff."

 _I don't remember anyone putting you in charge_ , Uhura thinks, and says out loud, "We can try there but they might have beaten us to it."

"Then maybe someone there will be doing a villain monologue so we can find out what's going on."

Uhura rolls her eyes and starts crawling. "As soon as we get there, we're playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who's actually making the plans here, because 'maybe they'll be monologuing' is possibly the worst plan I've ever heard. I can't believe you're command track."

"You'd be surprised by how often it works for Jim," Sulu says from behind her.

Sickbay is occupied, as Uhura predicted, but no one is in the middle of a villain monologue. As far as they can tell, none of the medical staff have been harmed. They're all locked in the quarantine rooms while a group of nine rebels—too many for them to fight, even in an ambush—stand in the middle of the main room, talking in low voices. There's no way to talk to them without alerting the Aykat Qar to their presence, so Uhura and Sulu have to leave them there.

The ship-wide comm activates suddenly. Neither Sulu nor Uhura can see a screen from their position in the Jefferies tube, so they both have to listen intently.

"This is Captain Kirk. The _Enterprise_ is under the control of the Aykat Qar. Do not resist them and you won't be hurt." He pauses, as if he's taking instruction. He probably is. "If you have anything from the Aykat Yix delegation in your possession, please turn it over to the Aykat Qar guarding you or bring it to the bridge, if you were smart enough to escape these overgrown bird-brai—"

There's a loud smack and Kirk's voice cuts off abruptly, turning into a pained gasp. Beside her, Sulu tenses up.

"Uhura," says a voice. The female guard, Elis Qar. "I know you have the bag. Bring it to the bridge and your captain won't be harmed... any more than he already is. I don't want to hurt him; I just need the contents of that bag returned to my people. You have one hour." With that, the transmission cuts out.

Wordlessly, they retreat to a more distant Jefferies tube for further discussion. It's a diagonal shaft right on the edge of the ship, and stars are visible through the windows—Uhura didn't even know any of the tubes had windows. Presumably, they dropped out of warp when the ship went into red alert. It's standard procedure.

"We should go to one of the shuttlebays and use a shuttle to contact Starfleet," Sulu says. "Send out a general distress call, at the very least. There's bound to be some ships nearby who can help us."

"We're going to the bridge," Uhura says.

"But that's what they _want_ us to do!"

She crouches and checks that her phaser is set to stun. "They want us to go peacefully. I don't intend to."

"You heard what she threatened to do to Jim." His mouth twists. "We have time to go to a shuttle and send a message first. Or just me—she only said your name; maybe she doesn't know about me."

"We're not going to split up. Rock-paper-scissors," Uhura says, holding out her fist. The thing is, she knows that Sulu always throws scissors, and this isn't the day that he changes the habit of a lifetime. "The bridge it is."

He sighs heavily and switches his foil restlessly between his hands. "This is a bad idea. You're just going to give them exactly what they want."

"Not exactly," Uhura tells him, and allows herself a small smile.

***

There are only three guards outside the entrance to the bridge. It seems too good to be true, but they don't have time to wait and find out if there are any more waiting in ambush. If it's a trap, they're going to have to risk it. Uhura motions to Sulu to follow her lead. Should any of the guards avoid her phaser and try to run—and she doesn't expect they will—he and his sword can stop them in their tracks.

None of them try to run. Uhura stuns two guards while Sulu disables the third with an easy thrust through his knee, followed up with an elbow to the side of the head. Then they pause for thirty seconds to make sure the disturbance hasn't alerted any other guards who might be in the vicinity. It feels like a very long wait.

It still seems too easy.

"Are you ready?" Uhura asks under her breath. Sulu nods and she clutches the bag to her side, making certain everything is where she needs it to be. Then she steps over the prone body of an Aykat Qar and opens the door.

The bridge is so crowded that it takes Uhura a fraction of a second to get her bearings. She sees the people she works with every day, cornered by the rebels. Kirk sprawls on the floor next to his chair, looking fairly casual considering the nasty bruise that's spreading across his cheekbone. Doctor McCoy sits next to him with a concerned sort of scowl on his face. There's no sign of Spock at all, which makes Uhura's stomach flip and she hopes that it's simply that he was in one of the labs when the attack began.

Elis Qar is in the middle of the room and she appears to be unarmed. Without stopping to think about it, Uhura marches up to her and points the phaser directly at her head.

"I'm here," she says.

"Give me the bag." But when Uhura tosses it to her, the rebel leader immediately knows something's wrong. "What have you done?"

"I've put it somewhere you can't get to it," Uhura says. She doesn't have time to pause and prepare herself; she can't let them see a hint of doubt. "It's not on the ship and if you hurt me or anyone else, I'll send it straight back to our home planet. You won't even be able to detect it with your sensors. We're going to talk before I give you anything."

"We're talking now."

"Just you and me," she says. "Dismiss your people and let mine go. Then I'll tell you how to get what you want."

"No," Elis Qar says firmly. "I'll let everyone go apart from the captain, the doctor, and the one you brought with you. Three of my people will stay with me, but I'll send the rest away. When you give me the Alterer, we'll let you all go and leave immediately."

Uhura can see Kirk gesticulating at her out of the corner of one eye, but she doesn't break eye contact.

"Deal," she says eventually. She doesn't lower her weapon, though as the bridge empties she ensures it still has enough power to get off a few more stun shots. Uhura hopes that won't be necessary, but she can't afford to take any risks now. "Now, talk."

"We aren't the rebels," Elis Qar says. "Five generations ago we were one people who lived together in peace. And then there was a great war. A civil war between them and our government. We had discovered what you call warp drive and made first contact with a race called the Vulcans."

"We know them, they're a part of the Federation. Go on."

"Our government decided that if they were representative of the galaxy at large, they had no desire to be a part of it. The Aykat Yix disagreed, but they lost the war. The place they call the Covered City was abandoned a long time ago, by some race we don't know, and it was the best place to put them all—it was a punishment, to be kept from the open air. We suspected they were still attempting to contact outsiders, which is why I was placed in their city as a spy. There are others, but I was the only one in a position to be a part of their attempt to join your Federation."

"And this 'Alterer'?" Uhura asks, keeping her phaser pointed steadily at the Aykat Qar's face.

"A retrovirus," she says. "Airborne, though non-communicable once it's entered a host—other than by inheritance. Once it's entered a planet's atmosphere, it's as good as a death sentence. The Aykat Yix released it into ours." Elis Qar sees the look on Uhura's face and quickly says, "No. The planet where you found us was not our home planet. We left the retrovirus behind in the hope that it would die out without hosts. You aren't infected."

"If it's a death sentence, how come you're still alive?" Kirk asks.

"Four generations ago, the Aykat Qar could fly. The Alterer robbed us of that ability and it's slowly killing us. We grow smaller and weaker and fewer with each generation." She closes her eyes slowly. "This is no life, knowing that within two more generations at most, we'll be nothing but another footnote in the history of this galaxy."

"The Aykat Yix asked to be moved to another planet," Uhura points out. "Why, if they're dying?"

Elis Qar's eyes open again in a flash of anger. "Those fools! They released the Alterer believing it would rid them of their rightful rulers. Now they're all infected too, they labour under the delusion that they'll find a cure before it's too late. They're wrong; there is no cure. Anyone exposed is doomed."

"And how do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Get one of your scientists to test it in a cleanroom—there's only one way to kill it; we'll show you how. They'll tell you that there's no way to direct the Alterer against one particular enemy. It's indiscriminate. You can test our DNA as well; the effects of the Alterer are obvious."

"It's _impossible_ ," McCoy snaps. "No virus in this whole damn galaxy—"

"No," Elis Qar says quietly. "We think it came from very far away."

Something in her voice makes Uhura lower her phaser. "We don't need to test it. Just get it as far away from this ship as you can."

"Uhura!" Kirk says sharply.

"She's telling the truth, Captain," Uhura says, absolutely sure of herself. Her gut's been telling her a lot since this whole situation started, and she doesn't think now is the time to disbelieve it.

And, of course, if Elis Qar _is_ telling the truth, the last thing she wants is for the Alterer to be released onto the ship, even if it is in a cleanroom. The small metallic tube resting against the side of her calf feels as if it's burning her.

"Here," she says. She reaches down to pull it out of her boot and hand it to Elis Qar.

With the exception of Sulu, everyone on the bridge turns and stares at Uhura.

"You had this all along?" Elis Qar asks incredulously.

"I didn't have anywhere safer to put it," Uhura says. "If I tried to hide it somewhere else on the ship, you'd have torn the _Enterprise_ apart trying to find it. So I kept it on me and told you it wasn't on board."

Elis Qar whistles. "You wouldn't have done that if you'd known what it was."

"No, I wouldn't," she admits. "Now you have it back, will you have your people release mine?"

"Of course." She raises her wing-arm and speaks into some kind of communicator cuff. Then she turns back to Uhura and says, "We won't take up any more of your time. I'm genuinely sorry you got caught up in a fight that wasn't yours."

"It happens a lot. Really."

There are surprisingly few injuries, given that the Aykat Qar overran the entire ship in a very short amount of time. Most are to the invaders themselves, courtesy of Uhura and Sulu. Given their new understanding, it only seems fair that the _Enterprise_ 's medical team treats them before they leave. It hastens the process considerably. After Scotty grills the Aykat Qar for the secret of their ability to get past _Enterprise_ 's security—an unusual oscillating dampener of some kind—they prepare to depart.

Two of the Aykat Yix guards survived the attack, or were allowed to survive to carry the news of their plan's failure back to the Covered City. They're both missing large clumps of feathers and generally look very sorry for themselves. Uhura can't really find it in herself to care.

"I'm curious," Uhura begins. "Your Standard is almost perfect, but the Aykat Yix didn't use anything but the present tense."

If Elis Qar were human, Uhura is pretty sure she'd have rolled her eyes. "I think they started the practice to represent their lack of ties to the past and lack of concern about their future, not because they wanted to sound like pretentious fools. And yet..."

"And yet." Uhura agrees, and laughs. It should be odd, laughing with someone who invaded and captured the _Enterprise_ less than half a day before, but somehow it isn't. Somehow, there's always been an odder day.

"With the greatest respect to you," Kirk says to Elis Qar, "I hope we never cross paths again."

She inclines her head. "The same to you, Captain Kirk."

When the Aykat Qar ships are little more than distant blips on the ship's sensors, Kirk and Spock send messages to Starfleet on every priority channel they have available to them—and several they aren't supposed to know about—to let them know about the duplicity of the Aykat Yix and their true intentions. The Federation isn't going to be happy with today's events, Uhura knows. This weapon could have ended the Klingon Cold War in a matter of weeks, though it would have ensured nobody won in the end.

She hopes the Federation didn't know that already.


End file.
